In a well-attended Shields Township meeting last month, residents voted “overwhelmingly” to strip Shields of the ability to purchase, sell or lease property, according to township staff.
Held during the township’s annual meeting, the real meaning of the vote is a point of contention, but Kathy Blahunka, a former Shields Township assessor and trustee, and an outspoken critic of current township leadership, said it reflects a broader distrust of Shields’ leadership and concerns over rumors that the township was pursuing the purchase of property.
Township Supervisor Kamila Urso did not respond to emails requesting comment. However, her husband, former Township Supervisor Jeff Urso, spoke at length when contacted. He said he views the vote as the actions of a “group of elitists” trying to hurt the unincorporated areas of Shields Township.
This is far from the first time Urso and Blahunka have traded barbs, and the township has seen repeated instances of internal strife in recent years.
In 2022, then Township Supervisor Heather Kerr and a group of deputy assessors resigned, with their letter of resignation pointing to “the actions of certain Shields Township elected officials” and “a philosophical and moral difference” with the majority of the board. Assessor Scott Helton had resigned earlier that year.
Although no names were given in the 2022 letter, Kerr had been at odds with then-trustees Jeff Urso and Kathryn Walker-Eich.
Annual meeting
According to Blahunka, almost 60 people attended the April 14 annual town meeting, based on the meeting’s sign-in sheet. Urso estimated fewer attendees.
The resolution in question, which delegates authority to the Town Board to purchase, sell and lease property, is put forward every year for a vote.
But Blahunka said the township has doubled its cash reserve in recent years and created a $500,000 capital fund, sparking rumors that the township was moving towards buying property, potentially for a new office.
Urso denied that the township was considering the purchase of property. The capital fund is for major road projects and purchases, he said.
Blahunka criticized Shields for an alleged lack of transparency, saying residents have “been angry with the township for a long time.”
“They don’t have a very good reputation,” Blahunka said. “I think the public made their point right then and there at that meeting.”
Urso warned the vote was putting the township’s office, which it leases, at risk, along with the government servers, food pantry, and other services housed in the building. Blahunka pushed back on that, saying the lease goes until summer 2029 — which township staff confirmed — meaning the resolution will go before the community several more times before the lease expires.
Money concerns
One of the roots of the conflict between some township residents, including Blahunka, and Shields’ leadership is related to road funds.
In 2019, changes at the state level abolished road districts in Lake and McHenry counties with less than 15 miles of road, with the rights and responsibilities to be absorbed by townships.
Shields’ road district, which handled just nine miles of road, was taken over by the township, including its road fund. In the years since the change, the township has continued to collect taxes in line with previous years, but with larger portions going to its town fund rather than the road fund, Blahunka said.
Urso said the shift opened up funds to upgrade their aging vehicle fleet, which was becoming “dangerous for staff to drive.” The money is still being used for roadwork and purchasing related equipment, he said.
“Right now, the need is vehicles to service roads,” Urso said.
But traditionally, municipalities falling geographically within the township but which maintain their own roads are given a 50% rebate on road fund taxes collected by the township. The shift means incorporated municipalities are now paying more for roads and equipment from which they largely don’t benefit, Blahunka said.
While the township has the authority to do that, Blahunka felt it was a mismanagement of funds that should have been returned to residents. She questioned several of the township’s financial and roadway management decisions in recent years, such as various vehicle purchases and the creation of the capital fund.
Urso said the amount of money under discussion is tens of thousands of dollars per municipality — relatively tiny portions that were helping unincorporated areas. It is a “drop in the bucket” for wealthier communities and a tiny portion of people’s taxes, he argued.
Blahunka put the total numbers in the hundreds of thousands of dollars not returned to the municipalities over several years. Shields Township cash reserves have doubled using incorporated area money, she said.
Urso argued that incorporated areas have always helped subsidize the roads and services of unincorporated areas. Blahunka and others are “elitists” opposed to townships and trying to remove their funding, he said, and she is using her outreach to “rile up people.”
“This is their way of hurting those areas,” Urso said.
Blahunka pushed back on that sentiment.
“No one wants to hurt the community of the unincorporated areas. They’re our neighbors,” she said. “We would like to see them use the money wisely.”
